That's life

I am still waiting for the modem Telstra seems to think will fix my computing woes - in the meantime, I’m still hot spotting and hoping my phone doesn’t run out of data. Yes, I know I could ring and ask for more, but I think I’ve spent enough time on the phone.

A few interesting things in the district lately - not COVID-19 related - including the partial dismantling of a part of the railway line in the Barossa, to accommodate a roundabout.

As you know, I am all about my own district and not as enamoured of others that seem to have had large bites off yummy pies over the years, but I was dismayed to hear about this. Railway lines are a great part of our history. Without the rails, much of the outback would never have been further explored, and certainly not serviced. The local line - ours included - were a major part of our social history, and once dismantled, will never be reinstated.

Take a cue from Peterborough and Terowie. The two towns were amazingly crucial to our links with the eastern states. When all lines were different gauges, thew places are where cargo was swapped and dispersed throughout the state. If you ever have the chance to visit Peterborough, stay in the old Railway Carriages and check our the Railway Museum. In small rural towns that are struggling, keeping these assets are paramount, and it would have been a much bigger drawcard if the link between Peterborough and Tarcowie had remained.

in the past there was a wine train that operated spasmodically in the Barossa region, and although it eventually proved unviable, it will never be resurrected now. I feel it was shortsighted of the state government to pull up the tracks - even though the proposed alternative was much more expensive - that history is gone forever. With the Angaston Rail Precinct now a reality, expansion has effectively been squashed. With drink-driving a bigger issue than ever, the business model of catering for people who want to tour the wineries without driving seems a pipe dream. Of course, apart from the few high-end places to stay in the Barossa, the rest of the accommodation could do with an upgrade, or it will continue to benefit more from local traffic than the overseas visitors they are aiming for.

In the meantime, as the daily briefings from the US seem to get more bizarre, it’s worth watching Chas and John try to make sense of it all on ‘Planet America’, on ABC and iView.

Gotta love technology

Technology is great - when it works. I’m not sure what has caused my latest round of dramas, but I don’t think I’m alone as there have been a few queries on social media as well.

Maybe there are a whole pile of annoyed individuals with ninja tech skills who are stuck at home and have decide to play with us - just for fun. I’m not sure what happened, but several phone calls to Telstra and Apple have indicated that the settings were changed on my emails - and I didn’t do it.

In the meantime, Apple support got me going, and my computer has just downloaded over 30,000 emails and is still going - all but a couple of dozen I have already dealt with. According to Telstra, they’ll just keep downloading until their backup runs out - there could be 60,000…

And all this has come five weeks after the printer dramas - which I have sorted by researching online and purchasing a Brother printer. It has arrived and was easy to set up, although it doesn’t print as nicely as I’d like, it will do. Meantime, we went to Bunnings and disposed of the old printer in their ‘unplug and drop’ bin. A great way to responsibly dispose of e-waste.

So, the newsletter will be out a bit later than I planned, but this is the way we roll, apparently.

Again, it will be much smaller, but we need to keep communications going - especially if all we are hearing is stay home’, ‘practice social distancing’, etc.

Social History

Today the hall was veiled for Anzac Day. Normally, this would have been done earlier, and there would be more, but it’s a little more difficult nowadays.

In the last half a dozen years or so, the traditional Anzac Dawn Service has attracted so many people that we have taken to holding it at the hall. It is usually followed by a gunfire breakfast and a few games of two-up. The hall is bedecked with the poppies, and filled with memorabilia of most of the conflicts our nation has experienced.

As we are unable to do this tomorrow, a movement has been gathering momentum for people to observe this solemn occasion by standing in their driveways at 6am. The ABC will be broadcasting the Dawn Service from the Australian War Memorial, starting at 5.55am (delayed for us), so you can stand in your driveway, and listen to the radio.

This will be an important part of our social history. Even though, around the time of the Vietnam War, Anzac Day and Remembrance Day lost favour with the community, in recent years we have learned more and understand better the significance of remembering those lost to conflict, and those who served, and who are still serving.

The old saying goes that if we don’t learn from history, we are condemned to repeat it. Whatever way you decide to commemorate Anzac Day, or not at all, our thoughts will be with those who suffered, and who still suffer.

If you are standing in your driveway in solidarity with those who choose to commemorate, please send us some photos so we can share with our community via the newsletter, and also by recording this for our history.

mtpleasantbeat@gmail.com

Thank you.

Sometimes words aren't enough

Yesterday four people went to work, for one of them , it was his first day. Last night their loved ones were mourning their loss, and it’s probably safe to say, most of us were in shock.

It started as a routine traffic stop, a speeding driver, but because the speed was excessive, the car would be impounded, so back up was called for. The group was in the emergency lane of the freeway, lights flashing, and because of the current situation, the traffic would have been much lighter than normal. And then the unthinkable happened and a large semi struck the group killing all four of the police officers. Somehow, the driver of the speeding car managed to escape injury and left the scene - after taking pictures which were later uploaded to social media. Apparently, the driver of the truck suffered a ‘medical episode’, the details of which are yet to be determined.

My husband was a cop, and my eldest son still is. Don served for nearly 40 years, and some of the places he went and things he was called upon to do were horrific and dangerous. My son still faces these situations.

Most cops we know joined the job to help people, and there’s nothing more satisfying than being able to make someone’s day better. To do good, to uphold the law, to keep the peace. Sometimes it’s a thankless job, especially when dealing with people who are not at their best, and even though it can sometimes be very dangerous, none of us expect that it will end in death.

To all those who are feeling vulnerable and fragile today, who are facing their jobs with a little less confidence, and perhaps viewing the people they deal with a little less favourably, we feel your pain and acknowledge your fears. We hope your shift ends positively, and that your loved ones never have to face what has just occurred in Victoria. Stay safe.

Life in quarantine

There are groups around the district putting together essential information for locals, there will be links added to pages and information dispersed. Hopefully it will be kept up-to-date, and we won’t have to do this for too much longer.

I’ve added a page with quarantine information, that details what I’ve found about those local businesses that are still providing a service.

I also added one called Things to do in quarantine, that has some links on it with some Quite Interesting stuff (that I’ll add to the Quite Interesting page when this is all over).

Sophie Thomson - who has been a great supporter of our local Red Cross branch for nearly thirty years and is a well known Gardening Australia presenter - has put up some videos on establishing gardens. If you are a novice, it’s a great way to get some solid, practical advice.

Maggie Beer has also filmed some videos and I’ve included a link. Taste Australia is a great website to find recipes, and Jamie Oliver’s children also have their own videos.

Keeping your body active is a must. There are some simple things you can do that will assist, and I’ve added a link from Britain’s NHS, which has some good ideas and practical advice.

Clearly you need to keep your brain engaged and there are some really good links from Australia Reads to TED Talks. TED talks particularly cover topics as varied as the design of flags, to housing, to charity, to comedy. The list goes on. Dr Karl is an Australian icon, and he has a great page with information on all sorts of subjects - including COVID-19.

All through this and trying to keep positive is the real fear that so many of our small businesses may never recover, and that makes me sad, not only for those who have worked so hard, but also for our local economy. I am sure w’ll all do our part and support them as much as we can.

It’s a beautiful day for a picnic in the garden.

Raise a smile

So much creativity! Here are some funny websites that showcase ordinary people doing some really funny things.

This first one is a group of students from Birdwood Primary School:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4YRiJnfzeEc&feature=youtu.be&fbclid=IwAR2AbDfdPb0r2lWvZny6RbPpAEw1-B-zsR-IDbp3NDQVGGCw9JRAV9Q--3k

Putting the bin out was never this much fun!

https://www.facebook.com/groups/306002627033697/about/

Then there’s this:

https://www.facebook.com/groups/515507852491119/about/

Lots more to find. Explore.

Printing newsletters

Nothing went right for this newsletter. The week before, after the last operating system upgrade, my mac decided that it wouldn’t open Word. OK - time was short, resort to Pages, the mac default. A basic programme and has some OK features, and I did use it last year, but bit the bullet and resumed Word, as it still has a lot more features - including indexing , which is vital. Frantic call to tech guy and after a couple of hours was all fixed. So, for the first time in nearly thirty years of mac use, there was a problem I needed help with.

Then deadlines from contributors were missed, and I was contacted to see if the article could still be used, which meant that all the formatting had to be changed when the article was inserted.

And that would have been OK, but then the printer decided to give out an error message, asking that the black cartridge be changed. Duly did so, as I am nothing if not prepared. Same error message. Another cartridge was purchased and installed - same message. Google was consulted. The HP website was consulted. No resolution. Went back through years worth of receipts and found purchase materials. Rang the number. Was talked through several scenarios, none worked, the technician then said he would transfer me to a hardware technician, but don’t worry if the call disconnected, they would definitely call back. Still waiting.

Luckily, there is another printer in the house. Only to be used as a last resort, the output was disappointing, especially when it wouldn’t print a pdf properly. Take the printer downstairs and print via my (now) reliable mac. No problem. But still not a good copy.

Too late to do anything else, so took to photocopier, and for once, it copied perfectly. No dramas. No running out of toner. All done. But, because it wasn’t a great copy in the first place, they’re not great.

Am now consulting google again to find a better printer, as this is the second HP printer that has quit because of a false error message.

Copies of the newsletter are at the Admin desk in the Market, and will be in the Post Office on Monday.

Cartoon is by Mark Parisi.